Why were salt-cellars unchanged in the 23rd century? Was Gene Roddenberry really not allowed to show a woman’s belly button? How many characters get killed during the run of The Animated Series? Who actually wrote the script for Wrath of Khan? How did Paramount get Next Generation on the air when no network would touch it? And what is the on-screen life span for the poor doomed red-shirts?
How well do you know Star Trek? At the start of 2022, lifelong science fiction fan, podcaster and author Tom Salinsky decided that the answer, for him at least, was “not well enough”.
Of course there will be many other sci-fi fans out there who feel the same, but few will likely be as dedicated as Tom, who immediately embarked on a two-year mission to watch everything from the start of The Original Series to the end of Enterprise. And he decided he would do this at the rate of one episode per day. Every Day. Rain or Shine.
So, a little spreadsheeting later, he discovered that if he were to watch Star Trek in transmission order, at the rate of one episode a day, treating feature length episodes later split into two for syndication as one episode, and each movie as one episode, and not counting The Cage at all (most of which he would see anyway as The Menagerie … stop us if we’re getting too technical!), he would start on New Year’s Day 2022, and would be watching the final episode of Enterprise on Christmas Day 2023. That’s 723 episodes. And to record his herculean efforts, he wrote a short review for each and every episode.
This book is the first part of that odyssey, covering the 79 television episodes which started it all, the animated series which briefly brought it back in the 1970s, the first six original movies and the full run of The Next Generation. The book also includes contributions from notable fans, authors, actors and broadcasters, giving their takes on favourite episodes.
As well as having fun saluting the show’s triumphs, cringing at its lapses in taste, and admiring its willingness to swing for the fences, there’s lots of fascinating behind-the- scenes information in Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series.
But truly devoted fans of the franchise will perhaps most value the complete overview of this landmark series that this book provides, watching it unfold and familiar elements appear — often much later than you might remember.
Can you guess when the first mention of the Federation was made? Or at which point Kirk’s time was established as being the 23rd century? Had money always been abandoned in the future, or was this a later concept? And some elements appear rather earlier than you might think — do you know which episode is the first to feature a Holodeck? (hint, it was 1974, but it wasn’t from the main series – it first appeared in “The Practical Joker” which is the third episode of the second season of the animated version of the show)
This book makes great reading for die-hard fans and casual Star Trek viewers alike, joining Tom on this daily journey through the highs and lows of one of the most significant and much-loved series in the world.
Pre Order from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Trek-Discovering-Original-Generation/dp/1399035045/
About the Author
Tom Salinsky is a writer, podcaster and corporate coach living in London with his wife and too many cats. With Deborah Frances-White, he is the author of The Improv Handbook (Methuen Drama, 2008). With Robert Khan he is the author of five plays and many audio dramas for Big Finish. With his podcast colleagues John Dorney and Jessica Regan he is the author of Best Pick: A journey Through Film History and the Academy Awards (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022). Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series is his first solo book.
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